Comments on: Join The 1% And Become A Content Creatorhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator
Michael Brenner on Content Marketing, Strategy and SocialTue, 03 Mar 2015 01:43:19 +0000hourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1By: Blog Posts to Read for October 18, 2012http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-5623
Wed, 15 Jan 2014 14:00:30 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-5623[…] Join The 1% And Become A Content Creator When creating your content – take the knowledge, the expertise, and the passion of your employees and focus that on answering your potential customers’ key questions. […]
]]>By: 31 Easy Ideas To Create Content Your Customers Want | The Jar Onlinehttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-4543
Thu, 16 May 2013 13:36:53 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-4543[…] you are trying to recruit social ambassadorsfor your business, you will undoubtedly run into the challenge from your colleagues that they […]
]]>By: Michael Brennerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3490
Wed, 09 Jan 2013 00:32:56 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3490Jorge I agree with you completely and your English is perfect. I think marketing and sales need to come together in the new buyer journey and partner to create content that attracts and then converts the right audience.
]]>By: Jorge Aralucehttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3485
Tue, 08 Jan 2013 23:23:17 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3485I fully agree the need for employee ambassadors , i believe that the fact is that we as users and customers have the ability to taylor our communication channel to receive only what matter to us . Only the content that is relevant AND received via trusted source will reach the target .
In that context the role of marketing and sales start to blur ..in my opnnion marketing should act as a facilitator of great content and tools for the salesforce to share to their trusted networks . And sales should also source their own content and value add to foster their professional brand . Maybe we are not yet there for the average sales rep but the top ,entrepreneurs, owners ..I belive they are leading that way .
( By the way , regarding the proper spelling discussion , it also should consider some allowance when English is not your first leguaje..anyway i apologize for the mistakes here)
]]>By: Alec Wagnerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3450
Fri, 04 Jan 2013 21:23:50 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3450Michael & Gail:

I can’t resist jumping in. As a former tech-journalist/editor/writer-turned-custom-publisher/content-marketer, this thread is very near and dear to me. I miss the days of crackerjack copy editors and life-saving proofreaders.

]]>By: Michael Brennerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3415
Mon, 24 Dec 2012 15:35:30 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3415You are absolutely right Gail. And one of the most important aspects of great content is often missed by even the best writers: great headlines.

On Business 2 Community, we see that every day. Some of the most popular articles aren’t those with the most knowledge or clever analogies but those with the best titles.

Great titles come in 2 forms: they are either really suspenseful or they capitalize on trending keywords.

I’m logging off for the holiday. thanks so much for your comments and have a great one!

]]>By: Gail Gardnerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3412
Sun, 23 Dec 2012 19:02:25 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3412We are on the same page – that all employees who can should be enabled to interact. Even most of those who are hesitant will eventually come around because they are surrounded by others who use mobile devices to teach them.

LOL about you needing an editor. Most writers would be thrilled to write as well as you do. There are some excellent resources on common grammar challenges, capitalization rules, and ways to check spelling. If we simply share those many will do just fine. If they just avoid the most common mistakes, few will know the difference.

I was at IBM when Profs was introduced. Executives were already using it for internal email and to manage tasks and assumed the field employees did too when we had not even seen it yet. It had a feature I ran regularly to see what grade level what you wrote suited. I used to run it because I wanted to know what words it thought were “too big” for people who almost all had college degrees.

That is when I realized that most managers with Masters degrees could not write or spell at even an eighth grade level. Before downsizing and email, that did not matter because they did not write anything themselves.

Many top engineers, programmers, and the bloggers who actually make money aren’t very proficient, either. English is a language with far too many illogical exceptions and particularly challenging for non-native speakers. So if you want to know what they’re doing, you can’t be a “grammar nazi” or leave because they spelled a word wrong.

What I recommend most small businesses do is find a social media savvy, influential writer they can work with consistently for three reasons:

1) They can take what you know and make it understandable for your target audience who may not know your industry jargon.
2) Their established relationships or ability to publish content that benefits you on other domains will raise your visibility.
3) Social media savvy writers with existing audiences have more influence with their followers than you do and can teach your people many skills.

Even if you only work together for a few posts you will get much more out of it than the content created: connections, skills, a person to go to for quick answers, and someone who then knows more about you and is likely to bring you opportunities and add you to new content they are not specifically writing for you.

]]>By: Michael Brennerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3410
Sun, 23 Dec 2012 16:57:57 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3410Hi Gail, thank you so much for the tip on embedded comments. I turned that on and that should greatly enhance the experience for those commenting on my site. Comments like yours are true gold. I really wish I had a full-time editor to carefully review what I publish and write. But having friends to help me improve the site and catch my errors is a real blessing.

As for my dream of having more of our employee colleagues join the 1%, I agree with you that it is unrealistic for everyone. However, I believe successful businesses will need to activate those with the desire and the knowledge and the skills to communicate in the future in order to be successful.

Customers can now contact our employees already on Twitter and Facebook and through blogs. Smart companies will help their employees who are interested to get trained on how to communicate effectively. I agree that this isn’t for everyone and certainly cannot be forced, but it is going to happen with company support or not.

I remember when I first joined the work force and computers and email were just starting to penetrate companies. I remember informally “training” many older workers who were not too happy that they had to respond to emails. Even just 10 years ago, I had a boss who still dictated his email responses to his assistant. Whether we like it or not, we are all communicators in business today. And my hope is simply that more employees who are interested and capable can join the 1% and share their knowledge externally.

I am seeing those writer services and influence identification services becoming much more prominent. And while I think they have their place, effective content strategy seeks to first take advantage of the talent you already have. As Marcus Sheridan loves to say, “They ask. You answer.” Every employees plays a role in that.

]]>By: Gail Gardnerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3407
Sun, 23 Dec 2012 08:18:05 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3407Michael, if you will turn on the threaded comments feature in WordPress we could reply directly to each other and it will be so much easier to follow discussions in the comments. Go to settings, discussions, and check Enable threaded (nested) comments. Most blogs choose 4 levels deep.

Elaine’s examples would make a great topic for another post. It is best if your content is as grammatically correct as possible; however, there are many thought leaders who can not spell and do not know the difference between your and you’re or they’re, their and there.

To refuse to read what they have to say is an elitist position that limits what you can learn. Often times the person in the trenches knows much more than those managing them – and neither worker nor manager may excel at writing.

We only know the errors we can recognize – not the ones we aren’t aware of so as often happens, someone with greater knowledge of grammar comes along and points out that the “grammar nazi” isn’t perfect, either. Even grammar experts do not agree about some usages and get in heated discussion where one site is positive they are correct – and the other side just as positive. Does it really matter, especially if only grammar experts know the difference? Just fix the obvious issues and common mistakes and don’t sweat the small stuff.

While your desire to get all employees into the top 10% is admirable, it is highly unlikely. There are many people whose greatest contributions will lie in other areas and while you might be able to force them to share, if they truly hate it they will not be very good at it.

A better goal is to identify those who have something to say and enable them to join the 1% and provide training, tools and time to those who love sharing so that they can do it more effectively.

The majority of the 1% are more researcher than thought leader. While they create content that brings together what thought leaders share, they are not thought leaders themselves.

We have an educational system that tries very hard to get people to do what they are told, believe “the experts”, and not think. Those of
us who rejected that conditioning are not all that common. If your company has a true leader who has original ideas or can explain complex topics but isn’t a writer, capture their thoughts on video or audio or in notes. You can always have a writer put them down in words.

If your company does not have someone in house, the solution is to collaborate with a thought leader to produce content that will benefit you – either on your own blog or on sites like Business2Community or here.

There are two kinds of content that will benefit any business:

1) Content that clearly explains the benefits of what you do.
2) Content published elsewhere that attracts potential customers back to you.

The first is best produced by someone who thoroughly understands your products and services and edited by someone who writes well. The second is where a quality research writer – or even better, an industry thought leader – comes in.

The best writers are finally starting to be recognized and what they are paid has increased from an average of $75-$150 per post to $300-$500 per post. I expect the best writers to be in high demand because there simply are not that many who write well and also have talents either as a researcher, from business experience, to teach clearly, or as a thought leader.

They tend to know each other, so once you find one you can ask them who they recommend. There are people working right now on ways to identify the most influential, social media savvy writers. Expect to see solutions along those lines in 2013. But you don’t really need them – all you need is to find someone who already knows and can tell you who they are.

]]>By: Business Networking: What Archetype Are You? –http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3245
Wed, 07 Nov 2012 19:38:57 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3245[…] Join The 1% And Become A Content Creator by Michael Brenner […]
]]>By: Michael Brennerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3143
Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:07:52 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3143Doh! Fixed, so thanks again!
]]>By: Lina Arseneaulthttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3138
Wed, 17 Oct 2012 20:02:39 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3138You’re welcome, I’m glad I made your day! Gratitude is such a positive energy and I try to make it a point of expressing it on a daily basis.

Something you’ll want to correct, nothing major but there are 2 “the” in your “About Michael Brenner” footer: “Michael Brenner is proud to be the the author of B2B Marketing Insider …”

Have a great day. Lina

]]>By: Michael Brennerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3132
Tue, 16 Oct 2012 18:49:02 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3132Lina, Thank you so much! You seriously have just made my day. I wish I could have been there and will certainly take as many fans in the executive ranks as I can get. Please let me know if there is anything I can do for you!
]]>By: Lina Arseneaulthttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3131
Tue, 16 Oct 2012 17:29:41 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3131I love the lead off to this blog post – it says it all!

Last week I was at a networking event hosted by SAP at the Palo Alto campus. It was a fabulous event and I got to meet many executives. In conversation, I mentioned how I was a big fan of your blog and that it was one of the main reasons I accepted SAP’s networking invitation. I think you might just have a few more fans!

Through B2B Marketing Insider and Business 2 Community you have more than lived up to the lead off sentence of your blog post. You’ve become a provider of business insights. You provide value, very refreshing. More marketers should take notice.
@LinaArseneault

]]>By: Michael Brennerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3127
Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:57:47 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3127Well Lucy, I think it’s pretty clear you and I are both in the 1% (created content) and I am also in the 9% (for sharing it).
]]>By: Lucy Likesalothttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3126
Mon, 15 Oct 2012 19:55:34 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3126Based on this wikipedia article and the contents of your article, would you consider your own company part of the 9% or part of the 1%?

]]>By: Elaine Jolihttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3121
Fri, 12 Oct 2012 18:35:25 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3121Hey Michael – Thanks for your kind words:) Have a great weekend.
]]>By: Nick Stamoulishttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3118
Fri, 12 Oct 2012 13:35:00 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3118This is absolutely true. If you aren’t creating thought provoking, original content than you won’t capture the attention of your target audience. Original is the key phrase here. There are many businesses that just share what others are saying, but then you won’t be seen as a thought leader.
]]>By: Michael Brennerhttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3115
Thu, 11 Oct 2012 21:45:14 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3115Elaine, this is one of the greatest comments I have ever received. Thank you for adding this story to the conversation. It is truly a great example of the power of content marketing, personal brand evangelism and thought leadership.

Except for that url, which is also true! Thanks again!

]]>By: Elaine Jolihttp://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/content-marketing/join-the-1-and-become-a-content-creator#comment-3114
Thu, 11 Oct 2012 17:36:35 +0000http://www.b2bmarketinginsider.com/?p=2391#comment-3114Hi Michael,
I am particularly intrigued with the first idea in your post – how does a company move from being a promoter of their stuff to to a provider of business insights? I have to share an (outstanding) example of this idea.
On July 20, Kyle Wiens, who is the CEO of iFixit, the largest online repair community, wrote a blog post in the Harvard Business Review about how he will not hire anyone, regardless of the position, who cares not a whit about grammar. He says, “The person who has decided not to care about grammar is not the kind of person I want to work with.” His blog got an amazing 3180 comments – and still counting.
Yesterday, in the Huffington Post, Jeneau Chun, a HuffPost blogger picks up the story, adds to it – remember, Mr. Wiens is not talking about his business directly, he is contributing a business experience as content – and THIS article gets 2793 comments and still counting!
Astounding to me. The comments were a little pithier on the HBR – “This from someone who doesn’t have any idea at all how to use a preposition properly – “That’s not a learning curve I’m comfortable with.” “It’s “with which I am comfortable” or “that comforts me” or “that I accept” vs. the Huff Post crowd – “A preposition,” said a college professor to his class, “is a bad word to end a sentence with.”
But the point is, when you can engage… let me add that up, 5973 readers for one idea that is not pushing a product. But I’ll bet a lot of those people now know what iFixit.com is – (am I dangling my participle?)
blog.hrh.org/cs/2012/07/i_wont_hire_people_who_use_poo.html
BTW – a bit of an unfortunate URL
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